we missed each other in the whole crossover deal and got the all of full story on friday. martha:. thank you. you did a great job. it is horrific. it will be with us for some time. bill: we heard that guy across the street. anyway, love your family. give them big hugs to your friends and have a great day. martha: bye, everybody, see you tomorrow. "happening now" starts right now. jon: brand new stories and breaking news. jenna: schools in newtown, connecticut, opening for the very first time after the deadly rampage at sandy hook elementary. just as we learn new details about the gunman, two more young victims are laid to rest today. plus a major cybersecurity threat. what you need to know to protect your bank accounts on-line especially in the new year. a hour harrowing ordeal for a tv news correspondent and his crew, kidnapped five days in syria. the latest details on their escape. it's haul l all "happening

now" jenna: great to have you with us on this tuesday. i'm jenna lee. jon: i'm jon scott. the latest on the tragedy in connecticut. while investigators search for answers there are some students are heading back to school right now. rick leventhal has the latest from newtown. what is going on there today, rick? >> reporter: jon incredibly challenging times for the community, struggling are with the aftermath after that horrific mass murder. sending kids back to school and reassuring those kids they will be safe in those classrooms. in fact security has been beefed up at the six cools in the newtown school district that reopened their doors today. a sign in one window said, quote, we are strong. the flags are flying at half-staff. the we also saw more moving vans rolling from sandy hook elementary which is the one school still closed. it is still considered a crime scene. all the desks and chairs and

equipment and supplies from sandy hook are being moved to another hill. chalk hill, in the town of monroe about seven miles away. that is where school administrators hope the survivors of sandy hook can go back to school sometimes perhaps later this week, jon. jon: there are pogue to be more funerals today? >> we had two funerals yesterday. two more funerals today. a heavy police presence outside the church today for funeral services. the first this morning held for 6-year-old james mattioli, at st. rose of lima church down the road. his family said james loved recess and math. he was born four weeks before his due date. they joked he came early because he was hungry. at noon, services for another first-grader, jessica rekos, also at rose. she loved everything about horses, reading and drawing stories about them. the governor talked about how difficult it is to find words that comfort the families. you can understand why.

these are little kids. they were 6 and 7 years old. they were just beginning to explore the world around them, jon and it was taken away from them. jon: just such immense sadness and goes on for days and days forever, really. rick leventhal, thank you. in a few minutes we'll talk to a former fbi investigator billion what law enforcement is doing to answer the questions left in the wake of this tragedy. jenna: new details on a shooting at a movie theater in texas that you might not have heard about over last several days. heather nauert with the latest. >> reporter: a terrifying shooting taking place at a restaurant before it spilled into an adjacent parking lot and into a movie theater complex just across the way. this happened sunday night, in san antonio, texas. the suspect, a 19-year-old cook at a restaurant where the shooting started is being held on $10 million bond. here is what cops believe what happened sunday night.

jesus garcia and his girlfriend apparently worked together at china garden restaurant. they apparently broken up. garcia see yaw, seen right there, allegedly grabbed his gun and went looking for a coworker at the restaurant. when he arrived he started firing at employees who ran from the building into a parking lot and finally taking cover inside the bathroom of a crowded movie theater nearby. now the entire way garcia allegedly firing his glock hand dpun as he hunted for his target. >> we heard popping. it had to be semiautomatic. we thought we were going to die. >> i got all my kids against the wall. he was doing like that and i was standing against the door. >> reporter: how frightening. those inside the theater were scared that an aurora-style shooting was takes place right there. luckily there was off-duty sheriff's deputy working security at the theater that night. she heard the shots and took down the suspect stopping

his manhunt. >> we were fortunate we have the officer was well-trained and took the action she needed to take. i believe she saved as many lives as she had to save. >> reporter: the suspect shot at one man and fired at a police department patrol car in the parking lot. we don't know how many rounds he got off before the deputies stopped him. you can imagine people in the restaurant, the parking lot and theater were absolutely terrified. jenna. jenna: more on that story as we get it, heather. thank you. jon: turning attention to washington. new information breaking in the last hour that a backup plan is in the works for republicans in case the white house and congress can not reach a deal on the fiscal cliff by the end of the year. house speaker john boehner spoke about it a minutes ago. >> our plan b would protect american taxpayers who make a million dollars or less and have all of their current rates extended. i continue to have hope that we can reach a broader agreement with the

white house that would reduce spending as well as have revenues on the table. jon: despite the existence of this plan b negotiations are moving forward between president obama and speaker boehner to try to avoid the fiscal cliff. ed henry is live at the white house. so tell us a little bit more about plan b. what is it, ed? >> reporter: good to see you, jon. you know the president's position all along you only raise taxes on people making over $250,000. republicans said look, that will end up not just hitting individuals but a lot of small businesses. it will result in them not creating jobs, et cetera. so you hear the speaker saying look, let's have a house vote next couple days that would put the cap at basically a million dollars or more. then your taxes go up. but protect people under that million dollar range. that would, if it were to pass, would extend the bush tax rates essentially for anybody making under a million dollars or less. then you move forward, get through the end of the year. you save some spending

issues and what not until next year but you sort of avoid the fiscal cliff in the short term and eric cantor, the house ma authority -- majority leader said this may be the only option because the president is not putting enough spending cuts on the table. take a listen. >> the president has not yet there. he has not come to where he needs to be in order to for us to push through a bill that really does begin to address the problem and as the speaker said that's why we're discussing an alternative plan and if the president and the white house can not come our way. >> reporter: breaking last few moments, house democrats came out after closed-door meeting saying they're hearing that rank-and-file house republicans have already rejected boehner-cantor plan. they do not want to do the short-term plan b. senate majority leader harry reid says he doesn't believe plan b would make it through the senate chamber. so we're still basically stuck, jon. jon: they're talking about a plan b, maybe wishing for it but how much of a chance is

there they get the bigger deal done? >> reporter: right. so-called plan a which has always been on the table. the president said line on raising tack should be $250,000. boehner believes it should be a million dollars or more. the president behind the scenes privately agreed to move it to 400,000, closer to boehner's million dollar line. jay carney says they're willing to do spending cuts but this deal has to include raising tacks on the rich. take a listen. >> he would veto any legislation got to his debt that would extend tax cuts for the top 2%. any deal that attempted to reduce our deficit broadly for the long term, a bigger deal, that he has been seeking has to be balanced. >> reporter: but now also still have to deal with the debt ceiling coming due in a couple of months. the president wants to raise that debt ceiling for two years. john boehner we're told put an extension of one year on the table. i think the very bottom line with plan a and plan b, they

made baby steps in progress maybe but they're still far apart from a deal to avert this fiscal cliff, jon. maybe it's plan-c. if a and b aren't going to work, they have to do something in the short term here to get through this crisis, jon. jon: where you're standing on the white house lawn can you see the edge of the fiscal cliff in the distance? >> i see it out there beyond pennsylvania avenue. it doesn't look too good, jon. i think the deadline and possibility of such a cliff and falling off of it i think is only thing that will eventually bring these folks together. there is potential for a deal because they don't want to see the markets react to something like that. they're saying they're far apart making baby steps in progress. they're hoping they will get some sort of a deal. jon: ed henry, our chief optimist. jenna: let's hope the plan-c, d, e, f, whole alphabet. there has to be a deadline somewhere. more out of washington, d.c. as we get it. we want to turn to major developments in the middle east.

after five days of captivity inside syria nbc news correspondent richard engle and his crew are save in turkey. this has clashes between rebels and groups loyal to the president there, president assad. rebels are reportedly launching a new offensive near the capital of damascus. leland vittert live from the middle east bureau with more for us now. leland? >> reporter: jenna we'll start with richard engel is out of captivity. he was held by a pro-government militia. evidently taken at gunpoint what they thought was rebel-held territory. blindfolded. went through mock executions while in captivity. during that time they were moved from safe house to safe house. they were inside northern syria. at one point who were holding them had his entire crew in the back of a minivan. they were moving to one location and another. that was when there was rebel check point they happened upon. that is where the firefight happened that eventually

freed engel. everyone got out of the van. he said they need help. the rebels got them inside of turkey inside the safe zone. five days of captivity. not every story inside syria with journalists end up this way. five journalists are killed. one american missing inside of syria as the situation continues to deteriorate. the latest video coming out of syria shows the momentum may have flipped. used to be the government hunting the rebels. now it is the rebels hunting the government. the government moved into much more defensive positions and are beginning to hunker down where the rebels are coming out of an insurgency-based warfare, better armed, better equipped and coordinated and being able to attack a number of government positions. still they have not taken control of aleppo or damascus, any kind of major cities though in syria. we're seeing signs that the russians are getting worried at least that president assad may not hold on in the

sense they have already sent a couple of warships into the mediterranean see to evacuate russian citizens. actions speaking louder than words. russians saying on one hand we believe in president assad. when you send ships to possibly evacuate citizens shows they may believe president assad is on his last legs. back to you. jenna: more developments from the middle east as we get them. leland, thank you very much. jon: we'll take you back to this country for this story. you remember the ex-cop in suburban chicago who seemed to be losing his wives? he back is in the spotlight. his attorneys are going at it too. wait until you hear who they are blaming for drew peterson's murder conviction. more on that coming up. new warnings for computer users and all the sensitive information you have online. well tell you about new evidence to suggest hackers are after you and your money.

jon: some stories we're following closely this morning. more than 20 members after northern illinois fraternity are facing criminal charges after a freshman student at university was found dead at their house. police say the 19-year-old died of cardiac arrest after an alleged hazing incident that involved heavy drinking. the army psychiatrist charged in the deadly fort hood shooting rampage set to appear in military court for his first pretrial hearing in more than three

months. case had been on hold since major nidal hasan appealed an order to shave his beard. if convicted he faces the death penalty. new drama in the drew peterson murder trial. his attorneys are accusing the hills former lead attorney of mishandling the retired police officer he is case. he is convicted of death of his third wife, kathleen savio. he remains the only suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife. she vanished in 2007. jenna: now to a "fox business alert." an update on a story we've been watching here on "happening now." one of the nation's largest cybersecurity firms warning russian hackers may be about to launch a major assault on your bank account. the plot is dubbed, project blitzkrieg. there is evidence that they will try to steal money from banks and credit unions across the country. adam shapiro from the fox business network with all of

this. quite a story adam. who is being targeted here and are we all at risk? >> according to mcafee labs they're taking this as a credible threat. part of russian hackers part of a criminal underground and targeting high net worth indivduals. they have already according to mcafee kind of run the trojan that is getting into the computer and allows them to get into your bank account. they have done this to 300 to 500 people since about 2007. the cyber hackers are claiming to have transferred about $5 million as they do this. essentially it is high net worth indivduals at roughly 30 institutions in the united states. the institutions are not named but they're going after national banks, investment banks. so you have to protect yourself but they take this as a credible threat. jenna: a credible threat. we know about it, we're talk about it on the news. are the banks prepared for this? >> reporter: that's a great question. first of all the attack was supposed to come sometime this spring. it was supposed to happen this fall. mcafee believes it will

happen this spring. he spoke with frederick layton, they are a strategic risk consultancy organization. they specialize in cyber intelligence issues. he tells me, this is direct quote, that the banks are not completely ready for this attack. mcafee's report is a thorough examination and the banks are getting ready for this event the best thing you can do if you have any concern about this, check your accounts daily. you can report any bizarre activity to the bank but you have to check your account dalely. that comes from an expert. jenna: very interesting. we had a cybersecurity expert on our show last week that said if you want to use apps, apps on the iphone for example, those can be more safe than going online. >> wrong. jenna: really? that's what he told us. this advice from the cia. >> i asked frederick late ton. i'm not a cyber expert. layton spent more than two decades in military intelligence, part of the nsa. he said there is belief that

you have apple devices you're more protected then if you're using ibm based device, such as a pc. he says that is not accurate. jenna: they have a difference of opinion. >> reporter: the experts do. jenna: good to check your account. thank you, adam. jon: my solution? i have two kids in college and don't have any money in the bank account. jenna: that is how it works. jon: i am not a target of hackers. jenna: jon scott, don't target him. empty pockets. jon: dream weather is moving into parts of the u.s. what it could mean for holiday travel as millions get ready for christmas. the latest on the investigation in newtown, connecticut. we'll talk with a former fbi investigator about what law enforcement is doing to address the many still-unanswered questions

can. jenna: welcome back, everyone. extreme weather moving through parts of the country today. you have high winds and mountain snow hitting portland, oregon. that's what you're seeing on your screen. also colorado, utah, wyoming bracing for several feet of snow. meteorologist maria molina from the fox news weather center. >> jenna, good to see you. not just out west but we expect the same snowstorm to track eastward and produce snow across parts of central plains, upper great lakes and eventually rainfall across the east coast. we have a couple of days we'll track the storm system to produce all kinds of travel headaches for anyone doing traveling coming up with christmas already around the corner. some of you will see a white christmas thanks to the snowstorm tracking east. we have snowlingering across parts of western washington, oregon. eventually the storm will move into the portions of the rockies, dumping snow in the higher elevation. good news for anyone wanting to do sking next couple days

across colorado, even utah. look at parts of nebraska, iowa, wisconsin. significant snowfall accumulation out here in the area shaded in blue. that is possibly over six inches of snow. chicago you're on the edge of that. you've had a bit of a snow drought and lack of snow, breaking record for longest period of time you haven't seen snow. you could see some of that. doesn't look like you will see a whole lot of it from this next system. some of that snow may stay on the ground for christmas. some may see a white christmas because of the storm. the issue will be the wind factored in with the snowfall accumulation and then you're looking at winner storm warnings in effect across colorado, also utah because of this storm and dangerous traveling conditions across some of those mountain passes, across parts of the rockies, eventually into the plains as we head into later wednesday night into thursday we're expecting a possible blizzard across western portions of kansas into nebraska. this will be the first

significant snowfall accumulation of the season. we have a number of watches across the central plains. everyone stay alert. travel will be impacts as we head into midweek and also thursday. believe it or not ahead of the storm system, jenna, temperatures will warm up. we'll see thunderstorms and possible severe weather tomorrow. large hail, damaging wind and isolated tornados will be possible across portions of louisiana, mississippi and even into arkansas. this is something else that we will be keeping an eye on. jenna: good head's up for us today, maria. thank you. >> thank you. jon: right now investigators in newtown, connecticut, are pouring over evidence at two crime scenes in a search for answers in the deadly shooting at sandy hook elementary. so exactly what are they looking for and how long will this investigation take? bill daly is former fbi investigator and senior vice president and practice leader for control risks security consulting. yesterday we heard from lieutenant paul vance, he's the connecticut state policeman who has been sort

of the face of this investigation, he said we're going to get to the hard drive, we'll get all that evidence off his computer and we're going to find out what was behind this rampage. today we're finding out that the computer hard drive has been smashed apparently by the gunman before he left. so does that mean it's going to be not possible to get the information? >> that isn't necessarily so, jon. the area of computer forensics and examination of damaged hard drives turned into a science. it is a key tool in the tool box for investigators these days with all the things we touch, criminals touch, knowing what happens inside a computer is important. what they can do they may be able to recreate part of that. even if it is physically damaged there are ways to recreate the drives. i worked on cases where the computers were involved in fires. you can retrieve information that is helpful. they can look at peripheral devices and buffers and memories. look at search engines,

variety of things that would help put this person, the gunman in focus. jon: maybe your printer or web searches or go to google or one of these other search engines and find out what he was up to? >> exactly. they can go out to that. any online mail services. see those type of act evident it is. so it's, for investigators there really is kind of potential treasure trove, potential i say, for things that may put this person, this gunman in focus. not to say that it will at the end of the day provide the crystal clear, you know, image of what he was up to or maybe even what led to the tragedy last week but it will certainly provide some background and some evidence, i believe, towards what he was doing on an everyday basis. jon: but some people might want to ask, why bother? you know that the gunman did this. probably had some mental issues. he's dead. what can you learn from putting together all the steps he took going up to that moment? >> well there are a couple of things. one from an investigative

standpoint you want to make sure there were no other people who were aware of what he was doing. jon: that he didn't communicate his plans to anybody? >> communicate to anyone. also on the forensic side they're looking at as the lieutenant mentioned on the firearms side. they want to make sure when he went to the range allegedly to to shooting was he there properly and properly licensed. somewhere people along the line may have legal exposure pause of things they should have or should not have done. how far from that standpoint, understanding what he's doing and man in focus as we would say, understand how we might be able to predict these things in the future. yes, we can't go back and change the tragedy of last week. we wish we could. we may be able to prevent the things in the future understanding what led this person. what was the background? what was his mental condition? what was his physical condition? was he on medication? who was he communicating with? what things was he looking at? that may help profile future cases. jon: bill daly with control risks security. thank you. >> thank you, jon. jenna: jon, we know so many

viewers are looking for ways to help. we're collecting sites and sources for you within on foxnews.com. one-stop shop how you can connect to newtown and potentially get involved. so many of us are looking to reach out because of this story. also one of the things we've seen as a side story, if you will from the murders in connecticut is this reignited debate over gun control in this country and the possibility of bringing back the ban on assault weapons. we're going to explore this next. plus, some new tensions in the middle east as iran warns that our involve mane with nato and a new missile system may spark a world war? we're going to take a closer look at that next. hey! did you know that honey nut cheerios

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jon: right now the connecticut school massacre reigniting the debate over gun control with some lawmakers saying that the president should take the lead on the issue, at the very least push for reinstating the assault weapons band.

others like a democratic congressman from rhode island says congress should take the action. right now he is holding a news conference on gun violence. chief washington correspondent james rosen live in our d.c. bureau with more on that. james? >> reporter: jon, good afternoon. january 3rd will be the first day of the new congress when a leading democrat says she intends to reintroduce a updated version of the assault weapons band that expired a decade ago. senator dianne feinstein, senator from california, author of the original assault weapons ban says she has worked on it for most of a year and with it will be carefully protected to protect gun owners t stops sale, specifically named firearms and semiautomatic rifles, handguns and shotguns that can accept a detachable magazine and semiautomatic rifles and handguns with a fixed magazine that can accept more than 10 rounds t stops

sale, transportation manufacture of strips and drums capable of accepting more than 10 rounds. to protect the gun owners the bill grandfathers in weapons already legally possessed the day the bill becomes law. bans 9 exempts 900 weapons for sporting or hunting and exempts man ali operated or permanent any-disabled weapons. joe manchin of west virgina and mark warner of virginia signaled their openness to new gun regulation and still another senate democrat took direct aim today at the nra. >> if the nra is serious about gun violence in this country, if they care about gun violence in this country, everyone walking around here, to worried about their nra scored. they scored soto my air's

nomination. they scored whether the attorney general was held in contempt. i have two words for the nra. score this. >> reporter: unlike the gun control law and gun lobby and specifically the nra have remained silent since new town but sources close to the industry tell fox news that is soon going to change. that the nra will soon start pushing back. sources to close to the industry tell fox news they will note just for starters that columbine happened in 1999, smack in the middle of the ten year period when this country had an assault weapons ban. jon? jon: james rosen in washington. thank you, james. jenna: new information now from overseas where tensions are rising in the middle east. iran's army chief of staff is warning we're all heading towards a world war. this is all in reaction to nato's recently announced deployment of patriot missiles along turkey's border. these missiles are meant to protect turkey from the possibility of rockets being fired from syria as its civil war escalates. we have former spokesman for

the last four u.s. ambassadors to the united nations. rick, i want to read this quote from this general out of iran so our viewers get a full idea what he is saying. quote, each one of these patriots, these missiles is black mark on the world map and is meant to cause a world war. they are making plans for a world war and this is very dangerous for the future of humanity and for the future of europe itself. is that bluster or is that a serious threat? >> you know i think it could be a serious threat and it is also bluster. i think it's both. what we're seeing is iran increasingly panicking because of what is going on in syria. you see reports today there are just thousands of people pouring over the border into lebanon, into turkey as well. jenna: refugees. >> these are refugees or others just trying to get out. so one clear thing is that the iranians have one ally in the region which is syria. if syria is now imploding and assad is going to be done i think that changes the whole map. we're entering a whole new phase.

i think we, the united states, we have to be prepared for that new phase of iranians panicking. jenna: let's talk a little bit about that because in the last 21 months, seems the story as we've been telling it will end if and when assad leaves or falls. but it seems like what you're saying, that is just where the story begins. >> that is just the beginning. we have iranian elections coming up in june. that i think is a big moment here. the u.s. government should be calling for regime change. we've had the world trying to figure out which opposition groups in syria are best to support. we've gone back and forth. it has taken a long time. it has taken 18 months for the u.n. to decide. however in iran we already have an opposition group. the largest opposition group is already organized. they meet regularly. they articulated a policy that says we don't want a nuclear weapon. so we should be supporting that group. i think the president of the united states, our president, should say, very clearly, that we want regime change in iran. jenna: how do we do that? beyond just the very public

state that you just mentioned, what else can be done? how does the chaos in syria, maybe set us up for different strategies than otherwise if that wasn't happening? >> well i think we've got to be prepared. that's what we're finding out in syria. we're seeing that we weren't prepared. groups are scrambling and again, we had, you know, europeans, the french and british it recognizing the syrian opposition before we did. before the united states did. that is not going to be good for the future of syria. they're going to remember that. so i think when it comes to iran, we have to work with those groups now, help them organize. and try to get them to the point where they could take over immediately peacefully. let's try to do it without a war. jenna: how do we do that in such a closed country? >> with the elections it is a great opportunity. right now we have six months to really figure out how we support the green revolution. president obama didn't do it last time. he will have to really look for signs. i think they're already happening right now where the opposition is beginning to raise their head and say, we'd like to overthrow our government.

can you help? that's when we can jump in. we've got to make sure twitter and the internet is not blocked so that people can organize. we have to help them with arms if they have, if they need them. jenna: you're saying be very aggressive here? >> be very aggressive with organization. much like we're doing in syria now even though it took a long time. jenna: some say if we take away ahmadinejad, who is the president there now we don't do much because the ayatollah. >> the supreme leader controls foreign policy. jenna: how do you navigate that? >> the national elections is for ahmadinejad's position. i think what you have to do is create instability or help the instability that's already there and really push them forward because it is already there. we just have to tap in. jenna: a little bit counter intuitive this policy. comfortable with chaos because chaos could lead to one of the most organized results eventually hopefully in our best interests. >> we don't have peace right now. it might appear to be stable but it is not peaceful. these people don't

experience peace inside iran. jenna: nice to have you on set with us. pleasure always to have you on the program. >> thanks. jenna: jon? jon: just in an update on one of the stranger media events i've certainly seen in my career. that is the scandal that led to the resignation of former four-star army general and cia director-general david petraeus. according to the associated press paula broad well, the tampa socialite will not be prosecuted for e-mails she sent to jill kelley. the justice department looked into whether the e-mails that broadwell sent to kelly warninger had to stay away from the married general. i should mention broadwell was married as well as was kelly. those e-mails did not amount to cyber stalking. according to the justice department as reported by the associated press. so for now, paula broadwell is off the hook at least in that part of this very

strange case. we'll keep you updated. there are new developments in the fiscal cliffhanger with the white house rejecting house speaker john boehner's plan b. that just happened within the last 40 minutes. all this as rublican lawmakers now make the case for boosting revenue through tax reform. one of them will be here live to explain why he thinks that is the fiscally conservative approach. plus, remembering senator inouye, the war hero who became one of the longest serving senators in american history. how his legacy stretched far beyond his home state of hawaii. that's next

jenna: well that was quick. we heard from john boehner, speaker john boehner earlier today saying he had a plan b for the fiscal cliff compromise. he would put forward legislation so that anyone earning less than a million dollars would not see their taxes go up at the end of the year. well the white house came out and officially said no to plan b.

we were hering from jay carney. of course the press secretary for the president saying the speaker's plan b approach doesn't meet this test of a balanced approach because it can't pass the senate and therefore will not protect the middle class. goes on in the statement to say basically, game on. as ed henry told us come on plan-c, right? that's what we're looking for. plan a is not working out so well because negotiations are not making a lot of progress, baby steps. plan b speaker put forward today, rejected by the white house. so maybe plan-c, jon, plan-c. jon: as you wellpointed out. jenna: here going to talk a little bit more what this all means now. jon: what a way to run a country, huh? there is a new call for raising tax revenue or increasing revenue and it comes amid efforts to hammer out a deal on the so-called fiscal cliff. republican congressman scott requiring gel, outspoken critic of anti-tax pledge is

laying out the conservative case boosting tax revenue through tax reform. the congressman joins us now. he serves on the house homeland securities services committee. congressman rigel, you wrote a letter to every single member of congress and said you're up for boosting tax revenue? >> well, jon, thank you for having me on the show. america has a spending problem principally and my votes reflect a deep resolve to cast a difficult vote to reduce federal spending but i'm a businessman in my first elected office. a careful review of our tax code and its yield over 12 years really makes clear to me that as republicans are locking ourselves into this current tax code through the americans for tax reform pledge have locked us into a level of revenue that we've not reduced

what it means for me to be a conservative, a fiscal conservative, to make sure we vote for a level of revenue that at least matches the level of expenditures we ourselves have voted for. jon: you have offered or suggested raising what, $800 billion through closing the loopholes? isn't that what congressman boehner, speaker boehner offered to the white house and was rejected so far? >> well, yes. i really believe that capping deductions is the first place we've got to go in reforming our tax code. part of the appeal, jon is the simplicity of it. you can just implement it, for example, like a $50,000 cap. that is hypothetical number but it really does generate the revenue that we need to at least pay for the level of expenditures that we ourselves as republicans have voted for. and that's why i'm in support of the speaker's efforts to both reduce spending and also have a

modest level of income included in an overall agreement. jon: will you be open to an increase in tax rates, for instance the highest earners? president obama says those making more than $250,000 a year should pay more. >> well what i'm doing right now is i am advocating for an agreement that is simultaneous. that means reducing federal spending and also having revenues rise a little bit. when it comes down to asking my, exactly what i would vote on, i really need to reserve judgment on that because i need to see what the total agreement is. what are we doing, for example, with respect to the debt limit? it would be a great concern of mine if the debt limit is incorporated into this agreement. i think that needs to be separate. so those are the kind of things i'll be looking for and it's really a dynamic environment, jon. we just learned this morning of course of the plan b option. jon: yeah.

that apparently has gone away, been rejected by the white house within the last hour. representative scott rigell in his first term from virginia. good to talk to you this morning. let us know if you get a christmas card from grover norquist. >> thanks so much. jenna: a response from the speaker boehner's office to the white house saying no deal on plan b. saying the white house's position defies common sense and goes on. after we go through the back and forth between republicans and democrats, the bigged headline here that neither plan out there really addresses some of the major fiscal concerns in this country. jon: right. jenna: we'll watch the back and forth on this, that's the big headline to remember as we move forward into the new year. jon: tilting at windmills. jenna: yeah, right now. we'll keep you posted on the back and forth. be right back with more "happening now"

jon: today we remember one of the longest-serving senators in this nation's history. here's bret baier. >> daniel inouye represented hawaii in congress from the time it became a state in 1959. he was initially elected as the state's first house member for two terms. subsequently as senator for nine terms. but his storied tenure began as a freshman house member. by the end of his career, inouye was the most senior member or president pro-tem in the senate, making him third in line for the presidency. inouye prefer ad reference for the institution of the senate over the partisan bombasts displayed by many of his colleagues. although he rarely appeared at press conferences or made speeches on the senate floor he had undeniably commanding presence. his words tended to carry weight when he did speak out on issues. he chaired four different

committees during his senate tenure. the intelligence committee, the indian affairs committee, the commerce committee and the appropriations committee. inouye aassumed the helm of that panel after legendary senator robb birth byrd relinquished the gavel. he was a witness to the pearl harbor attack and was the first japanese-american to serve in either chamber of commerce. he had the distinction of serving in the 4450th regimental combat team a segregated unit of japanese americans in world war ii. the most decorated unit in american history. >> the bombing of pearl harbor 70 years ago began a period of my life when he became an adult. and i hope then a good american. >> the then war department initially determined that the second generation japanese americans were enemy aliens, prohibited from serving in the military. >> none of them had committed any crime.

investigation after investigation disclosed that. no sabotage, no espionage, no assault, nothing. but they were round up and placed into these camps. >> after inouye and other fellow nisi successfully petitioned the roosevelt administration to change the policy the administration began to accept them on limited basis. >> president roosevelt issued a statement that american system not a madder of blood or color. american system a matter of heart and soul. >> inouye was promoted to a sergeant in his first year and eventually became a platoon leader. while fighting nazi forces in tuscany in april 1945. inouye suffered multiple injuries and had his arm amputated. he earned 16 medals and citations for his service including the distinguished service cross, the bronze

star, the purple heart and medal of honor but he wasn't award the last recognition until 2000. none of the soldiers of the 442nd regiment ever received the medal of honor, the military's highest decoration. more than 50 years later the distinguished service crosses given to inouye and 21 members of the regiment were upgraded to a medal of honor. inouye was in the spotlight in the 1970s member of the watergate committee probing the activities of the nixon administration. >> would you care to recommend to this committee any legislation to prevent the reoccurrence of some of the irregularities that occurred in the 1972 presidential election? >> in 1987 he chaired another congressional panel investigating executive branch wrongdoing, iran-contra committee. >> i will miss him. that is a gross understatement. >> he live ad remarkable american life, filled with dignity and grace of the

true hero that he was. >> daniel inouye was 88. in washington, bret baier, fox news [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

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jon: right now a funeral underway for one of the children murdered in the sandy hook school massacre. as the news media come under scrutiny for round the clock coverage of the story. does media attention really inspire copycat crimes? a former marine chained to a bed in a mexican prison, arrest ed for what his parents are saying is an administrative mistake. and you might like to toss back a little christmas cheer over the holidays. why wine makers are saying the fiscal cliff fight is making their december all the merrier. somebody's happy. brand new stories and breaking news all "happening now."

jon: a somber day in a town shattered by evil, filled with grief. two more of the 20 children murdered in their connecticut school being laid to rest today. this is a brand new hour of "happening now," i'm jon scott. jenna: hi, everybody, i'm jenna lee, and getting back to normal may seem all but impossible for the people of newtown, especially today, as mourners say good-bye to more innocent lives lost. while investigators examine the school and the gunman's home for evidence, folks are struggling to return to their daily routines. some of the town's other schools reopening today with stepped-up security, but it's hard to ignore the painful procession of funerals. you have two more tiny caskets arriving today at st. rose. right now a service is getting underway for jessica rekos, james man goally was buried earlier today. they were both just 6 years old. peter doocy's live in newtown with more on all of this.

many students went back to school today. we talk about getting back to normal, whatever that means right now in newtown. how is it going? >> reporter: right now things are not back to normal in newtown, jenna. we actually saw this morning some of those buses taking students back to school, and they drove very slowly with every student looking out the window right past this memorial to their fallen neighbors. and at this memorial the rain has left thousands of letters and flowers wet, but people are still coming by to pay their respects. someone even left cartoon character puzzles recommended for ages 3-8, the same range as every single first grade victim. one woman even came by to leave a teddy bear, and she broke down. >> i have a child. i didn't lose anybody directly, but it's affecting me directly because i'm a mom. i couldn't imagine the loss of a

child. i'm trying to let go of the bear. >> reporter: moving trucks hauling sandy hook elementary school's furniture have driven by here several times as well. so at this christmas tree, jenna, nobody is talking about santa claus, they are literally weeping in the streets for sandy hook. jenna: and, peter or, still trying to piece together so much of what transpired on friday. what can you tell us about what else we may have learned about what happened inside sandy hook elementary school? >> reporter: jenna, the family of 6-year-old dylan hockley say their son, who had special needs, died in the arms of the aide he adored, ann marie murphy, and they say he take great comfort in knowing he did not die alone. this comes, as you mentioned, as two of his class mates today are having funeral services. james mattioli's just wrapped up, jessica rekos' is just beginning at the same church. jenna? jenna: peter, thank you. we're just getting a breaking

news report as well out of connecticut, specifically out of newtown. some local stations are investigating this. there is apparently a lockdown at one of the elementary schools there. no students inside. want to be very clear about that. but apparently this morning at headow meadow elementary school, police decided to close it as a precautionary measure. it was supposed to open with all the other schools, we don't know why potentially this school has closed down. again, no students inside the school, police are investigating x we're trying to get more information on that. certainly, emotions high in the area, and precautionary measures will be taken as we heard directly from the state officials yesterday. so we'll keep you posted as we hear more. jon: the mass shooting in connecticut sparking a national debate and possibly a shift in the politics of gun control. some lawmakers including outspoken gun rights advocates are willing to consider, they say, new restrictions on assault-style weapons. west virginia senator joe manchin, a democrat and an avid hunter, saying it's time to consider reasonable restrictions

on guns. virginia senator mark warner, also a democrat, says the shooting has led him to rethink his opposition to a ban on assault weapons. and republican senator chuck grassley of iowa is calling for a commission to study the shootings, but he says it should include mental health issues and not just be about guns. let's talk about it with bret baier, the anchor of "special report." we got some indications in the message that the president had to share really with the nation at that memorial service that he would be interested in pushing forward with some kind of gun control, but he's been very short on specifics thus far. >> well, that's right, jon. not specific policy proposals. the only one that is pretty specific so far up on capitol hill is from senator dianne feinstein who has the outlines of a bill ready to go for the new congress, a bill that would essentially institute the assault weapons ban back from the mid '90s and also have some very strict restrictions on

the ammunition, the rounds, the clips, the amount of rounds in a clip. and it's very specific but also grandfathers in a number of weapons. that's a piece of legislation that feinstein says she'll put up. you mentioned some of these lawmakers, democrats -- all -- joe manchin, mark warner from virginia, kirsten gillibrand from new york. all of them pro-gun lawmakers, also we should point out the senate majority leader, harry reid, is backed by the nra, has a pro-gun legislative history and has also signaled that he, too, wants to move forward with something. how this moves forward, i think, is really the question. and the commission is often a way that washington deals with big, controversial things. that may actually be attractive to some folks and some

republicans who really want mental health to be considered as well as video games and hollywood's impact on our culture. jon: white house spokesman jay carney has been asked about that and what gun control plays in the comprehensive solution. let me play that exchange for you, bret. >> in the comprehensive solution, do you think it's fair and accurate to say that addressing gun violence, gun control would have to be part of it? >> i think that it's part of it, but it is far from all of it, and as you know, the president has taken positions on common sense measures that he believes should be taken to help address this problem, but he made clear that more needs to be done, that we as a nation have not done enough, clearly, to fulfill our number one obligation which is

to protect our chirp. our children. jon: it seems that, you know, president obama has political capital right now. he won re-election. if he wants gun control, it seems like he should be a little more forceful in talking about it. >> well, i think in coming days you may see more push from the white house on this, and i think you'll definitely see the allies in the senate like senator feinstein move this forward. and i think when you're starting to hear and see some of these lawmakers who have track records of really pushing back on any effort of gun control in the past like manchin who you may remember ran in a campaign at one point running an ad in that campaign firing a rifle at a climate change bill, you know, i mean, this is a guy that ran touting his gun-owning and hunting skills as part of his campaign.

when he starts talking about the need for change, you start to see a different take on things. at least in the middle. it'll be interesting to see the pushback when the nra gets involved, and i think that you'll see that -- jon: right. >> -- in coming days. jon: they have stayed largely silent, entirely silent, but they say they are apparently about to push back. stick around with us, bret, we have another big story in washington today, jenna has that for us. jenna: new developments that are really only emphasizing the old status quo standoff over the fiscal cliff. the white house just moments ago rejecting speaker boehner's back-up proposal saying it doesn't put enough of a tax burden on the wealthiest americans. the back and forth and back and forth and here we go again. chief political correspondent carl cameron is live on capitol hill. so, carl, what is exactly happening over there? >> reporter: well, mr. boehner has come up with an alternative proposal, and they are essentially worried that the fiscal cliff -- which is a two-part thing, massive, massive

spending cuts and huge tax increases. if the president won't come to the republican side and reduce spending more aggressively, mr. boehner says they will continue to negotiate, but there needs to be a so-called plan b in which republicans are offering to deal with tax cuts and raise them only on incomes over a million dollars from the current 35% to the clinton era 39.6%. spending versus tax cuts, and republicans don't like what they're hearing, so they need a plan b. listen. >> so at the same time that we're going to continue to talk with the president, we're going to also move plan b. i think we all know that every income tax filer in america is going to pay higher rates come january the 1st unless congress acts. >> we look to find the answer to solve the problem on the spending issue here in washington. the president is not yet there, he has not come to where he needs to be in order for us to push through a bill that really does begin to address the

problem. and can as the speaker said -- and as the speaker said, that's why we are now discussing an alternative plan if the president and the white house cannot come our way. >> reporter: so republicans insist they are going to continue to negotiate in good faith, but they're concerned that the president hasn't compromised enough on real series spending reductions -- serious spending reductions, has them offering not a new counteroffer, but a plan b should negotiations on the overall deal break down. and that, they say, would deal only with the tax cuts. the white house is utterly objecting it and, frankly, they're trying to cast it as a counteroffer. they're saying this is what the republicans are now talking about, to only deal with the tax hike problem and ignore spending. republicans deny that, they're still at the table, and this is what we're looking at with time rapidly running out before the country's economy goes over that cliff after the first of the year. jenna: all right. just after noon east coast time, we have plan b on and off the table. we'll see if we get plan c. carl, thank you.

jon: bret baier, all of this back and forth on the fiscal cliff and the proffer of a plan b from republicans, the white house has already shot it down or so it would seem. um, what are the chances of getting something done here? >> well, i mean, they're starting to diminish as we run out of days, and remember there's still the time that's needed to put the whatever deal comes together into legislative language. that takes time. there's sausage making that's involved in actually putting it to paper in the big dome behind me. so you really run out of time here. so that's why as you saw with the debt ceiling back and forth last year, the republicans are doing another track, this plan b, to get things moving if, if a deal doesn't come together. so it doesn't look good at this point. it doesn't look like the white house is moving. it does look like democrats are rejoicing that the republicans are having such angst within their own party, and they are. conservatives have a really hard

time with even speaker boehner talking about one million plus tax hikes without seeing the spending movement on the white house side. so the big thing, the bottom line here is that whatever deal is struck, you still have to get the votes to get it through both chambers. and in the house that's 218 votes, and a lot of them are conservatives who do not want to move unless there is some significant spending cuts tied to this deal. jon: so john john boehner has a lot of cats to herd, or so it would seem. >> definitely. jon: thanks very much, bret baier. "special report" the best coverage of all things washington and pom ticks -- politics monday through friday, 6 p.m. eastern. jenna: new concerns that round the clock media coverage of the school shoot anything connecticut may inspire copycat killers. we wanted to talk about it today with our news watch panel ahead. plus, training how to respond in

the event of a terrorist attack. we're going to take you behind the scenes to a facility where our first responders are learning how to take down the bad guys. that's next. ♪ [ loud party sounds ]

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jenna: welcome back, everyone. want to update you on some news we just told you about about another elementary school in newtown, connecticut, being closed because of a potential threat according to local reports. we have sent a crew on the scene

to this elementary school also in newtown, connecticut, but apparently police are keeping us a block away. just a reminder, all of the schools do have officers at their locations today because many of them are reopening for the first time after friday's shooting. according to one local news station in connecticut, police apparently closed this school because of precautionary reasons. wfsb says this letter was sent to parents by the principal in this morning saying, quote: as was predicted by the police that there would be some threats, the police were prepared and have us in lockdown which is our normal procedure, again, according to the principal. students will not come to school today, please make arrangements to keep them at home. there are no students in this school, apparently there are some staff on the scene, but again, just a report at this time. unfortunately, we heard from the state police yesterday, lieutenant paul vance, who said, listen, we've been getting threats of after the past couple days, and we're going to go after these people who are making these type of threats to

our community in any stretch of the imagination that they're doing this. we'll keep you posted. again, one school, headow meadow elementary school this newtown -- in newtown closed for precautionary reasons this morning. jon: let's take you down to georgia now. law enforcement is taking on terrorists. officers at the georgia facility learn to combat terrorists' ever-changing strategies from cyber warfare to handling weapons of mass destruction. steve harrigan live in brunswick, georgia, with more for us. steve? >> reporter: jon, watching these counterterrorism exercises can really get your heartbeating, and that's the goal, is to take these federal responders and put them in situations of real pressure. >> let's go. [gunfire] >> reporter: at the federal law enforcement training center in brunswick, georgia, they use blank ammunition -- >> police! >> reporter: -- but real

actors. >> you can't simulate behavior. you have to use people to simulate behavior. >> reporter: 60,000 federal agents a year come to the 1600-acre site complete with mock airplanes, bars and a test track. the important thing in performing a pit maneuver is location. no embankments, no bridges and no con congestion. terror attempts from the past are rehearsed alongside potential future attacks like improvised explosive devices. >> we want to prepare domestically for any type of threat, and we want to be able to defeat that threat should it occur here in the united states. >> we need backup. >> reporter: response training, though, to abductions or active shooters is only part of the mission. >> we can't afford to just respond to incidents anymore. we have to prevent things from happening. >> reporter: now, director, after last week's shootings, a lot of people are on edge under

the -- around the country. how that is that affected to what you are doing here? >> it reinforces why training is so important, and it also inspires us to do a better job. >> reporter: a real sense of urgency here. jon and jenna, back to you. jon: wow, that looks like a fascinating program. steve harrigan, thanks. jenna: wow. well, b that new health care law means new regulations, we know that, but is the government moving too quickly to put them into effect? a lot in the next year or so, so we're going to get you updated on the latest there. also, a plan to save money could put citizens to work doing jobs currently handled by police. is that really the safest option? we're going to have a live report ahead. questions?

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jenna: new regulations created by the president's health care law are now on the fast track and, apparently, some watchdog groups say the new rules are being implemented so quickly, opponents are not getting enough time to really weigh in. that's what they say. shannon bream is live in washington with the latest now. shannon? >> reporter: hi, jenna. well, as you know, when congress passes a law, it's basically just a framework, and then federal agencies are delegated the authority to write regulations and rules that spell out just how the law will be enforced. before they become final, there's a comment period when the public, employers, companies, anyone who may be impacted can weigh in. back in 1993 president clinton stated that agencies should allow at least a 60-day comment period, but that's not what's happening with four new regulations tied to the health care law. three of them have a 30-day comment period, the fourth has just 24 days with the final comment due the day after christmas. americans for limited government has written to the department of health and human services asking

for an explanation and requesting that the comment period be extended. one of the regulations is more than 400 pages long, and regulatory experts say it would be nearly impossible for a company to review something of that volume and prepare a formal comment in time. >> because of that, a lot of these agencies work in secret. the only people that know about them are large stakeholders and industry that have full-time counsel that do nothing but look at these things. but there are a number of regulations that are published each and every day in the federal register that affect your daily life, and it's definitely worth looking at because if you don't pay attention to it, then this is a whole part of the government that's operating in secret otherwise. >> reporter: and by the way, according to the government's own web site, there have been nearly 6,000 federal regulations proposed just in the last r 90 days. we reached out to both the white house and hhs, and so far no response. jenna?

jenna: we'll look forward to that when we get it, shannon. thank you. jon: a marine veteran chained to a bed in one of mexico's most dangerous prisons. he's waiting on a judge's decisions that could make it much more difficult to get him out. the latest on his case and his parents' desperate plea for his release. >> examine this case. this is wrong, and do the right thing. he should be released immediately. this was an administrative mistake. he is not a gun runner, and you know it. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of all day pain relief. this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills.

♪ but the fire is so delightful ♪ nothing melts away the cold like a hot, delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup from campbell's. ♪ let it snow, let it snow jon: right now we're getting our first look at marine veteran john hammar since his arrest in mexico back in august. the photo sent anonymously to his family shows hammar chained to his bed in one of mexico's most dangerous prisons. he faces weapons charges bringing his father's antique shotgun into mexico even though delayed it at the border.

he went on the record last night discussing his son's effort to get the veteran freed with "on the record" with greta van susteren. >> behind the scenes we're talking with our attorney to the mexican attorney general. we know congresswoman ros-lehtinen has been in touch with mexican officials but we're frustrated, yes. jon: eric shawn is on this case. he joins us live with the latest. eric? >> reporter: jon, he served in iraq and afghanistan but now former u.s. marine veteran john hammar as you said take a look, in a mexican prison chained to that bed in what his family calls a clerical error. he was on his way to hunt and surf in costa rica. when they arrived in mexico they were arrested for bringing in a illegal weapons. his mother said the gun is 100-year-old at teen -- antique belonged to his great grand father. he wanted to go bird

hunting. but the barrel was too short under legal limits. she is devastated. >> john any made an administrative mistake. he didn't register. he should have registered the gun at an embassy in the united states before going over there. so basically he has been in jail for four months chained to a bed over a clerical error. >> reporter: antique or not it is illegal to import guns into the country which is why john faces the charges. he told his mother he hasn't been chained to his bed the whole time. hasn't been chained since last wednesday. mexican ambassador to the united states said it was for security reasons. in the letter john was put quote, in an administrative area to insure his safety. lack of cells in the area or any security measures there left authorities with no other choice but to temporarily restrain or limit his movement. doing it with that chain. well the u.s. state department which says americans are arrested mexico every year for gun

possession have visited john. they're keeping tabs on his plight. his next court date is the middle of january which means he will likely still be in prison, jon, on christmas. jon: what a tragedy. let's hope they get the guy out of there. eric shawn, thank you. jenna: we'll talk how to do that now. we'll bring in fox legal analyst, lis wiehl and ted simon an international attorney that represented amanda fox and navigated the mexican court system as well. welcome to you both. ted, that is the big question. why can't we get this guy out of prison now? >> unfortunately too many americans and unfortunately for this young man they don't realize the american constitution does not travel with them for a foreign country and is not to be their advocate. we forget the maxim when in rome do as romance do and abide by laws of foreign countries. this is sad story. he was very open. declared the gun on u.s. side and went in there.

probably should have been more prudent and done the same sort of thing with the mexican embassy here but as far as getting him out, the way it works there decidedly different than in the u.s. initially they will look at the evidence and if the police think's there's a sufficient basis to charge they will. he is then brought before the minister which has 48 hours to determine if there is sufficient evidence or extend the time. thereafter the judge has 72 hours to determine if there is sufficient cause. now it appears this must have happened because he has been in for that period of time although i'm not familiar with the details. he does have alternatives. there is certain properly mechanisms in mexico. you can file a emparo whether or not your rights are violated. jenna: sorry to interrupt, based on what you're saying, do you think it is likely or unlikely that he gets out of prison in january? he could be, according to the latest that we have, some of his offenses could

be punishable up to 15 years in prison. do you think that is likely, that he stays in prison longer than the time he already has spent? >> i wouldn't want to prejudge the case but there is enough mitigating facts here i think in the end, you know, fairness will prevail. and i think, while he is charged with the most serious, it doesn't mean it has to stay there. there seems to be a conflict in types of charges. he is charged with an aggravated felony for being in possession of a weapon that the military uses. on the other hand it appears there are statutes in place that permit the possession as long as it is not shorter than 20 inches. we understand his gun is at least 24. jenna: as he points out, very confusing even some details we have what exactly he is being held on. >> right. jenna: what other kind of details to this case his parents, as well as the young man who was with him, who was arrested as well but not kept in prison because it wasn't his gun, say when they talked to the u.s. agents they told him, go

ahead, you'll be fine. >> you'll be fine. the barrel of the shotgun is 24 inches. under, forget about the u.s. constitution i agree it does not apply in mexico obviously but, 24 inch barrel, right. what they prosecute in mexico for the most heinous crimes are 20 inches and below. why would mexico be going out of its way to prosecute this young man, keep him in prison for up to 15 years, jenna. it just doesn't make sense. i will tell you the parent have gone on the record said it is not about the gun. it is about extortion from the parents. parents alleging they have been called and said you pay up, you wire us money or else. jenna: this prison, ted, is supposedly run by one of the biggest and most dangerous cartels in the area the parents have said this. what lisa said about extortion, how do you keep a client like this safe? >> this is one of the fundamental differences when representing an american in a foreign country. not only do you have to protect and try to prevail in the case you have to be

concerned with their very survival. the american embassy will be concerned about humanitarian violations, will be able to weigh on those types of issues but will not be able to weigh in as an advocate. and i think the parent as long as they continue to remain persuasive and not insulting and raise this issue to the public i think it's probably a worthwhile way to advance his cause. again, one has to be careful when dealing with the media in these sorts of things. this is the kind of case that should work itself out with the proper documentation. >> can't the american embassy though, you're saying they should stay out of it pretty much i don't think that is correct because the american embassy can say to the mexico government, the prosecution, hey, abide by your own guidelines. you don't prosecute for the 15 year penalty unless 20 inches and below. jenna: ted what about that? what is the risk i guess, the political involvement? >> sure, sure. this is a very delicate dance that goes on and really varies from case to

case. on the one hand the american government will be the first to say they ant be your advocate and can't get your release. on the other hand there are diplomatic channels that can be employed, hosten employed publicly and not so publicly. that is the art of dealing with these sorts of cases. one has to be careful what they're saying publicly to insure the best possible result. i believe in the end this is the sort of case if properly handled will resolve itself and he should be returned to the united states. it's clear he had no bad intent. he declared it on the u.s. side. he declared it on the mexican side. but for not having the proper permit this would in the have happened. again it's a reminder for everyone listening if you're going to travel to a foreign country, consider what you're going to be doing there, what you're going to be bringing what you're going to acquire and what you will bring back. jenna: good advice for someone who represent ad few high-profile cases overseas. lis, quick final thought. >> bottom line he should

have had a small fine and been released. crazy he is in prison four months in solitary confinement. jenna: thanks to you both. it is a story we'll continue to watch. fox news latino has been at the forefront of the story. they got the picture own your screen. check in for breaking developments on position news latino.com. jon: a terrible story unfolding in colorado right now. heather nauert is getting new information at our breaking news desk, heather? >> reporter: at this hour police near long month, colorado, 30 miles north of denver are investigating a gruesome crime scene that unfolded while a 911 dispatcher was on the phone with a woman who would soon become a victim. and here's a look at that site right now. authorities in colorado say that at least four people were found dead inside this home in an apparent murder-suicide. a colorado police dispatcher telling reporters that a call came in to 911 about 4:00 a.m. mountain time today. a woman on the other end of the line gave her home

address and then she screamed into the phone, no, no, no. what followed then was a series of gunshots. a man then picked up the phone telling the dispatcher that he planned to kill himself. the dispatcher on the phone then heard a gun go off. the wells county s.w.a.t. team was called into the scene and they entered that house finding four people, two men and one woman dead. a police spokesman saying that three of the victims are adults. one victim may be in her early teens or in her late 20s. their identities haven't been released just yet but we know no one else was found in that home. neighbors describing this as a good, peaceful place, a nice neighborhood. police plan to hold a press conference later today. we'll keep you posted on the delays of this disturbing story. jon? jon: i spent a summer working for a radio station in longmont. a great community. >> reporter: hard to hear. jon: heather, thanks.

jenna: we're talking about gun control in the wake of the murders in newtown, connecticut. one of the other stories we're watching gun sales that have apparently increased since what we've seen transpire over the last few days in new town. what explains this rush and type of firearms that are really being sold right now? we'll tell you a little bit about that. plus as cities plan to build police posts with civilians would save a lot of money but is it what is most safe for the community there?

jenna: welcome back, everyone. "happening now", there's a plan to hire civilians to take jobs held by police. the city of denver, colorado, says it could save more than a half million dollars a year by doing this. moremportantly, put more police officers on the streets. not everyone is happy with the idea. alicia acuna is live from denver with more. alicia? >> reporter: jenna, that's right. the denver police union says there are jobs only an

officer can do but the chief insists this will help his department and its bottom line. >> we have identified approximately 45 positions that sworn police officers are currently doing that civilians can do. >> reporter: the denver police department is joining several others around the country hiring civilians for jobs traditionally held by sworn police officers, including crime scene analysis, evidence gathering and lab work. >> part of it is our responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and to really maximize the use of our police officers. >> departments with tight budgets can save a lot of money. if you have a detective who, let's just theoretically is making 90,000, and you can hire two people to fill that position? >> reporter: can civilians, even if highly trained, match the experience of a seasoned detective? >> it will depend on the training. and some of it is done through colleges. educational programs and there's a lot available. >> reporter: mary dodge

directs the masters of criminal justice program at cu-denver. she says highly trained civilians can bring a lot to the table. >> they can go into the department and offer a great deal that a police officer may have no training in that area. >> reporter: she says the key to making it work is combining years of experience detectives have with the skills trained civilians bring. >> they may miss the whole picture. so if you have police officers still, sworn officers still in your crime lab, they can put the puzzle pieces together. >> reporter: and the chief says he envisions hiring an additional 40 to 50 civilians in the coming years. jenna? jenna: interesting idea. alicia, thank you. jon: it has happened before. much copycats trying to get attention. also getting their inspiration from scenes of mass murder. so are the news media to blame when that happens? we'll get into that with our "news watch" panel. a frightening ordeal for a tv reporter and his crew

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jenna: bringing you outlive to los angeles right now where we have live shots right in the heart of l.a. in fact. the land is telling us that the bomb squad is on the scene wilshire boulevard near temple. i'm not sure based on the helicopter shot where the helicopter is headed based on buildings in the area. we can tell you there is no evacuations ordered. apparently there is precaution taking place right now. the robot is investigating a suspicious device either attached or connected to a car in the area. near the temple location at wilshire and, around wilshire avenue. the los angeles police

department also tells us they believe the temple was evacuated as a precaution out there. this alling just after 8:00 in the morning west coast time. we'll keep you posted as we hear more. jon: right now the deadly shooting rampage in connecticut sparking nearly nonstop coverage by the media. news crews from around the world are converging on the scene, giving the killer a level of note right that he certainly never had in life. and now along with grief and sorrow for the victims it there is concern all this attention could encourage copycats. there's one thing that film critic roger ebert said in 2003, commenting on the news coverage. he said, when an unbalanced kid walks into a school and shorts shooting it becomes a major media event. cable news drops ordinary programing and goes around the clock with it. the message is clear to other disturbed kids, if i shoot up my school, i can become famous. that was the case in

columbine in which the killers drew some inspiration from the bombing in oklahoma city. and the american psychological association urged news outlets not to publicize the writings and video of the virginia tech killer, fearing it would spark another wave of copycats. talk about it with our "news watch" panel today. jim pinkerton is contributing editor and writer for the "american conservative" magazine. alan colmes is host of the "alan colmes radio show" and author of, thank the liberals for saving america. jim, you worked in the reagan administration i believe, correct? >> yes, yes. jon: ronald reagan was shot by john hinckley, jr., a mentally unstable man who thought he would win the attention of jodie foster, the actress by doing that. are the media part of the problem here? >> well, i mean i'm not an expert but as you mentioned the american psychological association, which presumably are experts, they said exactly this. they said that this is a

media copycatting situation and they pleaded to not publicize the situation at least of the killer in virginia tech back in 2007. and frankly that advice or that suggestion wasn't even heeded. it was so badly heeded in fact that the media not only identified the killer, they identified the wrong killer. they got the killer's brother. i can remember back in 1999, in the columbine case, jon, you and i, all three of us were at fox at the time, there was a lot of movement said don't mention the names of the killers. you didn't, showed their pictures, not their names. don't give them credit. that was a good point. a lot of us tried to adhere to that. completely lost in this case. we better get it back. jon: alan, what is your feeling? is the media a part of this crimes? >> it is hard to say. jim makes very good points whether publicity could inspire somebody to do some

heinous act. on the other hand we live in an open society with a media whose job it is to report the news. i don't know how the media can do its job unless the media is given the freedom to express itself and give the full story. i think there's also a fascination to want to know who are the people who commit these heinous crimes. what are they like? what inspires them to do it? what motivates them? what is the mind like. it gives us a rounder picture. because we know who it is and what they are thinking and what issues may go into them committing these tragedies, we can then address them more fully. so i think there's another side to this as well that would indicate we live in a society where we get full information. transparency is very important in our society. i don't think we want to avoid that. jon: earlier this year i was in aurora, colorado in the aftermath of the movie shooting massacre there, and the governor of that state, john hickenlooper at the memorial service afterward

said something that drew the applause of the crowd. i want to play that for you now. >> the moment they got news, they got the call that came through to from dispatch they were on the scene within 2 1/2 minutes. [applause] and literally within seconds they had apprehended the suspect. [applause] and i refuse to say his name. [applause] jon: obviously applause for the police and their heroism there but the biggest applause line when he refused to mention the name of the guy who shot up that theater. is that, jim, an approach that maybe all of us could or should take in the future? >> yeah. again, i tend to agree. i have sympathy for alan's point of view. he is not wrong in what he says. this is transparent society

and you don't want to crimp the free press. i guess however, unless we want this to happen all the time for the rest of our lives we better start thinking of something and multifaceted approach would include mental health and all that goes along with that. no reason why we couldn't diagnose the killer in connecticut even after he is dead without mentioning his name. we have to look at violent movies. violent videogames. everything we did to keep the country from falling apart and going to pieces in the first half of the 20th century, we undid in the second half of the 20th century. and for example, look at hayes code in the movies. jon: there was a lot of misinformation in the early hours of this shootings, alan. the killer first was 24. then he was 20 it. was the older brother. it was the younger brother. the mother was a teacher at the school. then it wasn't. it goes on and on and on. is that what happens in the era of facebook and twitter? >> i don't think it is a matter of facebook and

twitter. when you have a complicated story and new information coming in all the time and a chaotic situation this happens because we get information that is often wrong. in this case it was because of the brother of the killer and an i.d. that was not particular to the killer. and, i don't know that you can blame it on social media, but again, the media's job is to report what it knows when it knows it and do corrective courses along the way if necessary. you don't withold information. you go with the best information you have. if you need to do a correction, do it as quickly and efficiently as possible. jon: all right, alan colmes, jim pinkerton, good discussion as always. thank you both. >> thank you. jon: we'll be right back ♪

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megyn: it is a source of bad cliches. too many to mention. we're all probably tired of the term fiscal cliff but apparently everyone is not affected in the same way. jon: right. >> the napa valley winery, the cliffside winery,he